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The Tracey Ullman Show
The Tracey Ullman Show is a Fox network variety show starring actress\comedienne Tracey Ullman. The show became the FOX Network's second prime-time series after the show "Married... with Children." It aired from April 5, 1987 to May 26, 1990, lasting for four seasons and 88 episodes. "The Tracey Ullman Show" is also known for producing a series of shorts featuring the Simpson family which was adapted into the TV series "The Simpsons". Show Format A typical episode of "The Tracey Ullman Show" would begin with Ullman giving a brief introduction, ostensibly from her dressing room, leading into the opening titles (the show's theme song "You're Thinking Right" was written by George Clinton). Then two or three comedy sketches would be presented in each episode, most designed to showcase Ullman's ability to skillfully mimic various accents. One popular recurring character was timid, slow-talking Kay ("Iiit's... Kaaaaaaaayyy...") Typically, the final sketch of the night would include a musical and/or dance number featuring Ullman solo or other members of the cast. The final segment saw Ullman, clad in a robe, deliver a closing monologue to the studio audience before ending the show with her catchphrase "Go Home! Go Home!" and dancing as the credits rolled. Ullman often talked about her husband, Allan McKeown and her daughter, Mabel. She chose the phrase, "Go home", during the show's pilot episode because she could not think of anything clever to end with. "Oh, you got sore bums... go home!" Characters Tracey Ullman performed an array of characters. Most only appeared once, as the sketches concentrated on plot, with characters created to best tell that particular storyline. A handful of characters did however return for subsequent sketches. These include: *Ginny Tillman, the ex-wife of a Beverly Hills proctologist *Francesca McDowell, a 14-year-old New York City girl being raised by her father Dave (portrayed by Castellaneta) and his partner William (McMurray) Tina, a Brooklyn postal employee who is best friends with her co-worker Meg (Kavner); *Sarah Downey, a quintessential yuppie married to attorney Greg (Castellaneta *Kay Clark, an English office worker and caregiver to her sick mother (Kay also appeared frequently in Tracey Takes On...) *Sandra Decker, an aged Hollywood movie actress *Kiki Howard-Smith, an Australian professional golfer *Summer Storm, a Los Angeles disc jockey *Angel Tish, a singer who appeared with her husband Marty (Castellaneta). Among the recurring characters portrayed by other cast members, besides those previously mentioned, were Gulliver Dark (McMurray), singer and rival to Marty Tish, and Dr. Alexander Gibson (Castellaneta), a psychiatrist.. In the course of its four season run, Ullman performed a total of 108 characters. Animated Segments The Simpsons The Simpson family debuted in short animated cartoons on "The Tracey Ullman Show" for three seasons before being spun off into their own half-hour series. These shorts (also called "bumpers") aired before and after commercial breaks during the first and second seasons of the show. They eventually had their own full segments in between the live action segments during season three. They did not appear in the fourth and final season as they had their own half-hour TV series by then. All of the segments were written by Matt Groening and animated at Klasky-Csupo by a team of animators consisting of David Silverman, Wes Archer & Bill Kopp. Cast members Dan Castellaneta and Julie Kavner provide the voices of Homer Simpson & Marge Simpson respectively. In the beginning, the drawings appeared very crude because the animators were more or less just tracing over Groening's storyboards, but as the series developed, so did the designs and layouts of the characters and the "Simpsons drawing style" was ultimately conceived. This style evolved even more throughout the first few seasons of The Simpsons and was used more than a decade later on "Futurama" (another animated series created by Matt Groening). Dr. N!Godatu "Dr. N!Godatu" was another series of animated shorts created by M.K. Brown (and animated by the same Klasky-Csupo team). It originally alternated every other week with the Simpsons shorts, but it was dropped after the first season of the show. By this point, Matt Groening's shorts had gained much more popularity and the producers saw no reason to continue Brown's shorts. The character was voiced by Julie Payne. Cast *Tracey Ullman (Seasons 1–4) *Dan Castellaneta (Seasons 1–4) *Julie Kavner (Seasons 1–4) *Sam McMurray (Seasons 2–4) *Joseph Malone (Seasons 2–4) *Anna Levine (Season 3) Accolades "The Tracey Ullman Show" won three Emmy Awards: for "Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Program" in 1989 and 1990 for "Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program" in 1990. Also in 1989, choreographer Paula Abdul won the Primetime Emmy Award for "Outstanding Choreography" for her work. Abdul was noted for putting Tracey Ullman through strenuous choreographed routines; Ullman had been a trained dancer. Category:FOX Shows Category:1980s television shows Category:1990s television shows Category:Variety